In January 2012, when President Obama installed Cordray as the high priest of his new credit watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he took it upon himself to entirely bypass the one check Congress retained over the powerful agency — the constitutional right and duty of the Senate to advise and consent to the director's appointment.

As a recess appointment, Cordray already has done untold damage; but Democrats want to make the appointment permanent before it runs out at the end of this year and solidify his five-year term.

So the Democrat-run Senate Banking Committee last week voted to approve his nomination, sending it to the full Senate for a final vote. While Republicans on the panel voted nay, you'd never know it from their subdued questioning during the hearing.

They had a shot at this rogue director while under oath and under the klieg lights.

But instead of demanding to know why a political zealot with an ax to grind against banks is qualified to lead the government's most powerful financial regulatory agency, Republicans could only echo Democrats' praise for his "intellect" and "cooperation."

Instead of grilling Cordray about the Gestapo-like tactics he's using to investigate lenders, Republicans spent much of their time blowing him kisses.

One even praised his parenting skills.

"Your son and daughter are acting perfectly in the back," GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee gushed about his 14-year-old twins. "If you can get people dealing with consumers in the financial world to act like they are, you'll do a very good thing for our country."

Republicans seem clueless.

It's Cordray and his credit cops who are out of control, not creditors.

Among other things, Cordray has:

 Deployed aggressive civil-rights lawyers from his Office of Fair Lending to shadow regulators on routine bank exams to try to develop criminal leads against lenders. The intimidation tactic has kicked up a storm of resentment among bankers cooperating with regulators in good faith.

 Retained a shadow network of radical bank shakedown groups to help him frame lenders as racist.

 Expanded his "disparate impact" witch hunt to include auto, student and small-business lenders, in addition to home lenders and credit-card issuers.

Also in his anti-discrimination cross hairs: consumer credit-reporting agencies and debt collectors.

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